Voice of the people (letter).

Catholics Not Dominated By Church

September 21, 1993|By Donald Andries.

DEERFIELD — Yet another example of Catholic-bashing appeared in your Aug. 20 cartoon of the pope on tour saying, "The Catholic life is a constant struggle against forces over which you have no control, namely, the Catholic Church."

The implication that church members have no say in church matters is untrue. The Catholic Church has many layers of authority and responsibility, such as local parish councils whose lay members are freely elected from the congregation, as are members of Catholic parish school boards.

Also, Catholics are welcomed to worship at any and all services in any Catholic house of worship without having to pay membership fees as is the case with some other religious bodies.

As far as their personal lives are concerned, Catholics can exercise control through the church. For instance, Catholics stuck in bad marriages can file for annulment. This process can be initiated by either or both parties. Not all such appeals are granted, but those who file annulments are taken seriously and treated as adults whose concerns have a right to be heard and responded to with dignity.

The nature of papal teachings for the church and the world are exhortations urging us to remedy the damage being done by the control freaks of the world. The best example of such urging in this century was the 1961 encyclical "Mater et Magistra" (Mother and Teacher) by Pope John XXIII.

Pope John wrote: "The solidarity which binds all men and makes them members of the same family imposes upon political communities enjoying abundance of material goods the obligation not to remain indifferent to those communities whose citizens suffer from poverty, misery and hunger, and who lack even the elementary rights of the human person." The New York Times wrote of this encyclical, "No document of our times is more apposite (relevant) to contemporary problems, or more socially advanced."

Finally, please keep in mind that members of the Catholic Church want to be in the church. They freely profess their beliefs in the church and what it represents, just as Catholic Americans also freely profess their allegiance to the American flag and the republic for which it stands.